Air filter



E. G. PIERCE Oct. 5, 1948.

AIR FILTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 8, 1944 PULL OUT INVENTOR. EdwinG. Pierce ATTORNEY 5- G. PIERCE Oct. 5, 1948.

AIR FILTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 8, 1944 INVENTOR. G. Pierce EdwinATTbRN Patented Qct- 9 8 Edwin G. has, Gleveland, Ohio Application January 8, 1944.S1erial"No.f51j7;491

This invention relates particularly to a compact emergency filter foruse in'maintain'inglife while leaving an environment where a toxic gashas been liberated and seeking ;a place of safety.

The objects of the present invention include the provision of ;a compactair filter of simple and inexpensive design that can be carried in theclothes of a worker or at his bench so that it is conveniently withinhis reach at all times; that is sealed when not in use to prevent thedeterioration of .its filter charge; that may be adapted .for absorbingor neutralizing the poisonous content of a particular gas that might "beliberated unexpected'ly on the'failure of acontainer, of equipment, orthe like; that is available for use when needed with a minimum of effortand delay; and that will save the lives of many workers and'peo- 1Claim. (01. 128-447) to air filters and more iiliO ple 'w'hichliveswouldbe lost if some provision I is not .made for their safety inescaping from a confined space in which a poisonous gas may be abruptlyand unexpectedly liberated, into the open air or other place of .safety.

With the above and other objects in view which will be apparent ,"fromthe following discussion to those who are informed concerning thepractices .of preserving human life .in the presence ofpo'i- .sonousgases, mists,.spr.ays and the like, that may result froman explosion .ofequipment, the ia'ilure of .a storage tank, .or the hke, illustrativeembod iments of the present invention .are disclosed in the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Fig. .1 is a .side elevation partly cut .away and in .section .of adevice that embodies the present invention;

7 Fig. 2.,is a fragmentary elevation .of a part of the device that isshown in .Fig. 1 with a mouthpiece in its extended conditionready foruse;

Fig. .3 is a fragmentary elevation of .themouthpiece carrying end wallof the device that is shown Fig. 1

Fig. A is an enlarged zfragmentary elevation partly in section andpartly broken away .of the mouthpiece and its seat separated from eacother as shown in Fig. ;2

.5 is airagunentary plan view from above of the closure that seals theintake orifice in the :device thatis shown in 1?, V

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary viewfnonibelow of the intake :orifice seal shownin Fig. :5 taikenfrom "the line 6--E in Fig. 1;

"Fig. 7 is an edge elevation with parts in section of a preferrednoseclosure tor use with the device shown removablymounted upon afragmentary edge elevation of the device that .is shown Fig. 1-;

8 is a side elevation of the nose closure shown in Fig. W adjus'tablymounted upona'f-ra'gmentary sideelevation of the device that is shown inFig. l;

Fig. :9 is a sectional view of the nose closure that is shown inFig. 7,of Fig. 8;

"-Fig. '-1 0 is a fragmentary v'i'ew partly in section of an adaptationof the :dev-ice that is shown in 'Fig. lto include a'tankof compressedoxygen;

Fig. 1-1' is' an 'levational wiew, partly broken away and section,=oT..a 'circular for-m' o'i device that embodies the present inventionhaving a spiral gas channel disposed inwardly thereof;

Fig. '12 is a fragmentary plan view of the-intake orifice .seal and'part of the nose'closing cushion of the device that is shown in Fig.11, taken'ironi the line l2--"-l=2 th'ereof; and 7 "*Fig. 13 isasectionof the device that is shown in Fig. l lftaken along thelinel'3-l3 of -ifiig. 1-1, showing-its extensible'mouthp'iece itsretracted and sealed position.

The rectangular form of air filter that forms a part of the presentinvention comprises a can-- ister the interior of subdivided any desiredmanner, as'by the partitions -2 or the'l'ike,

"into a cont'i-mious gas conducting channel from pass thru the canister.

screens 5 and 6, that are stretched over and cemented along their rimsto the aperturecl partitions and --8, minimize the loss of lines fromthe particular charge 0f poisonous gas absorbing or neutralizin materialwith which the canister may be charged. Partition I is arranged loetweenone of the partitions 2 and one of the end wallsc'f the canister"in-proximity to 'but spaced mm the intake portf3 and partition 8 isarranged between another partition '2 and the other end wall ot thecanister =an'dis arranged-in proximity' to but spaced irornfthe tubularmouthpiece fi. After the canister is charged, a gas impervious glue isapplied to the edgesoli the "canister, its partitions"? and itspartition-s -'l and 3. A canister side is then applied and bond-edthereto for sealing up the device after which it is ready 7 or the like.I :As illustrated, the outer end of sleeve taken along-the line 9-4! Iis flush with an opening in the canister which opening is spaced fromthe intake port 3 and the tubular mouthpiece 4 is slidably mounted inthe opening and sleeve [0 and has secured thereto a ring I 2 that abutsagainst the inner edge of the sleeve 10 when the mouthpiece 4 is drawnout from the canister preparatory to using the device at which time theinner orifice of the mouthpiece is open and the tubular mouthpieceprovides an outlet from the canister. The mouthpiece 4 preferablyterminates inwardly of the canister l in a frusto-conical edge l3 thatseats within a mating depression 14 in one of the partitions 2 whichacts as a wall to thereby provide a gas-tight seal between the inner endof the mouthpiece 4 andthe partition 2 that it abuts when the mouthpieceis in its innermost position. Thedepression l4 may contain a thincoating of wax or the like, not shown, to further perfect the gas-tightseal for the inner end of the mouthpiece 4, if preferred. A gas sealingpacking I5 is disposed around the exposed end of the mouthpiece 4 and issecured to the outer surface of the end wall of the canister l in anysuitable manner,

as by a ring It or the like, for minimizing the entrance of gas fromoutside of the device be tween the mouthpiece 4 and the sleeve in whichit slides. The exposed end of the mouthpiece 4 preferably is providedwith a flange I! that provides it with a finger grip when it is desiredthat the mouthpiece is to be drawn outwardly of the canister l and for atooth grip when the mouthpiece 4 is inserted into the users mouth.

The intake orifice 3 is preferably sealed in such a manner that, uponthe removal of the seal, an intake orifice of approximately apredetermined size results. With this object in view a sealing tab 20 isattached continuously along its periphery around the intake orifice 3 tothe top of the canister l to make a gas-tight seal over the intakeorifice 3. On the under side of the tab 20, a stiff member 2| isarranged which is attached to a wire ring 22 extending above the tab byany suitable means, such as a loop of adhesive tape 23 or the like, thathas its ends bonded to the bottom of the tab 20. The assembly is sealedagainst gas leakage by a non-drying adhesive gas impervious coating 24or the like, that is'positioned thereover. Any other suitablearrangement may be adopted for removing the major art of the tab 20 whenthe device is to be used.

In operation the device is first removed from a suitable protectivecover, such as a sealing cover of Cellophane or the like, somewhat as apackage of cigarettes or the like is opened. The intake orifice is thenopened by tearing-off the tab 26. The mouthpiece flange H is thengrasped between the fingers and the mouthpiece 4 is drawn out into itsoperative position, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings at which time theinner orifice of tube 4 is exposed to provide an outlet from thecanister. The exposed end of the mouthpiece 4 is then inserted into themouth of the user and the device is ready to function. As the userinhales air thru the mouthpiece 4, the air that he inhales willpreviously have passed through the v intake orifice 3 and the poisonousgas filtering 1 Provision is made for those individua s W1 0 P ferclosed nostrils when wearing an air purifying device. For this purpose aclamp 25 yieldingly grips the sides of the canister I when slid downthereover. The clamp 25 continues upwardly in a frame 26 that issoldered, Welded or otherwise secured thereto. The frame 26 carriesinwardly thereof a pair of opposed laterally disposed gas imperviousresiliently yielding pads 21 for closing hares that open toward thesides of the users nose or for compressing the side walls of a normalnose toward its septum and a gas impervious resiliently yielding pad 28therebetween and below the pads 21 for closing nares that opendownwardly and for compensating for diiferences in the distances betweenthe lips and noses of different users of the device.

An adaptation of the device that is shown in Fig. 1 for the inclusion ofa cylinder of compressed oxygen is shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings. Inthis construction the canister 3|] is preferably compartmented by adesired number of partitions 3| to provide a continuous gas conductingchannel from an intake orifice thru a screen 32 and a ringrof apertures33 opening into a compartment in which a mouthpiece 4 is mounted. Apartition 34 has an aperture 35 registering with an outlet from a tank36that contains compressed oxygen and that is installed in a part of thega conducting channel of the canister as shown. The flow of oxygen intothe compartment in which the mouthpiece 4 is disposed is controlled bysuitable means such as a valve key 31 that extends to outside of thecanister 30. A gasket or packing '38 seals the orifice in the end wallof the canister 30 in which the valve key 3! is disposed against theentrance of poisonous gas into the canister.

In operation, this form of canister provides the user with a limitedsupply of pure oxygen when the seal over the intake orifice is notbroken, or an oxygen enriched supply of purified air when the seal overthe intake orifice is opened.

A circular form of the canister 40 is shown in Figs. 11-13, inclusive,of the drawings. The canister 46 is provided with a continuous gasconducting channel by a continuous spiral partition 4! that extends froman intake orifice 42 to a partition provided with an opening 43 for thedisposition of a desired poison gas absorbing or neutralizing chargewithin the gas conducting channel so provided. The canister 40 is shownwith one side partly broken away o that its details of construction Willbe illustratively apparent. When fully charged a gas impervious glue isapplied to the edges of the outside wall of the canister 49 and itspartition 4| and the cover is mounted and secured thereon. The loss offine particles from the charge is minimized by the disposition of thescreens 44 and'45 over the intake orifice 42 and the opening 43,respectively, of the canister 40. The intake orifice 42 is releasablysealed with a suitable tab 46 that has gas impervious glue around theperiphery of the intake orifice'42 so that the tab 46 may beconveniently torn away to provide an intake orifice of a predeterminedsize when gripped by a free end 41 thereof and the tab 46 is torn awayfrom the outer surface of the canister 40.

A tubular mouthpiece 50 is disposed in a compartment within the canister40 which communicates through the opening 43 with the gas absorbing orneutralizing charge in the gas conducting channel. The mouthpiece 50 ispreferably of the retractable type, sliding in a sleeve 5| that issecured to the inner face of one of the sides of the canister 40 by glue52 or the like, and gas-sealed in its engagement therewith in a desiredmanner, as by a sufiiciently gasimpervious gasket or packing 53 that isdisposed upon the outer surface of a side of the canister around themouthpiece 50. The outer end of sleeve 5| is flush with an opening inone wall of the container and the tubular mouthpiece 50 is slidablymounted in the opening and sleeve 5|.,

Suitable means, such as a ring 54, is secured on the inner end of themouthpiece 50 to arrest its movement outwardly of the canister 40 byabutting against the inner edge of the sleeve 5i when the mouthpiece 50i in its outermost position at which time the inner orifice ofmouthpiece 50 provides an outlet from the canister. The inner end of themouthpiece 50 preferably terminates in a frusto-conical edge 55 that isadapted for making gas-sealing engagement with the inner surface of theopposite side of the canister 40 in any desired manner when themouthpiece is in its innermost position, as by seating into acorresponding depression 56 therein that may, or may not as preferred,contain a suitable gasimpervious sealing material, such as wax or thelike, as previously described. The exposed end of the mouthpiece 50 ispreferably provided with a flange 51 that provides a finger and toothgrip on the mouthpiece 50 when the device is to be used.

The periphery of the canister 40 is depressed, as at 60, sufficiently toproperly position, with respect to the mouthpiece 50, a gas-imperviousresiliently cushioning material 6! therein for closing the nose of awearer. The cushioning material 5| is secured within the depression 60in any suitable manner, as by being cemented or the like therein.

In operation the free end 41 of the tab 46 is grasped between thefingers and the tab 46 is torn away from the canister 40, leaving theintake orifice 42 in its open condition. The flange 51 on the exposedend of the mouthpiece 50 is then grasped between the fingers and themouthpiece 50 withdrawn from the canister 40 until its ring 54 abuts theinner end of the sleeve 5|. The user's nose is then pressed down intothe gas-impervious cushion material 61 to close the nose so that nopoisonous gas that may be in the contaminated air surrounding the useris inhaled thru the nose and the user inhales purified air that haspassed thru the canister charge thru the mouthpiece 50 into the .usersmouth. The user preferably exhales thru the outer corners of his mouth.If the user prefers he may remove his nose from the cushion material 6|for the purpose of exhaling.

The nose sealing device that is shown in Figs. 7-9, inclusive, of thedrawings preferably has the pads 21 secured by a cement or the like, tothe opposed inner faces of the frame 26 adjacent the upper edges thereofso that they close nares that open laterally away from the nose orcompress the side walls of a normal nose toward the septum thereof. Thepad 28 is similarly secured by cement or the like, to the opposed innerfaces and the bottom of the frame 26 and preferably not to the pads 21.With this construction the pad 28 is free to move downwardlyindependently of the pair of pads 21 where this function improves thenose sealing properties of the device for a particular user.

It is to be understood that the various forms of the parts of thefiltering devices that are disclosed herein are submitted for thepurposes of illustrating and describing the present invention and thatvarious modifications may be made therein without departing from thepresent invention as defined by the appended claim.

What I claim is:

Apparatus of the class described comprising a rectangularly-shapedcanister having an inlet port adjacent one end thereof and an openingadjacent the other end, a plurality of baffles arranged in staggeredrelation to provide a circuitous channel for receiving an air-purifyingmaterial and with one of said baffles being arranged to form a wallopposite said opening, a tubular mouthpiece mounted in said opening toform a close sliding fit, the inner end of which mouthpiece engages saldwall to seal its inner orifice when the mouthpiece is forcedinwardlyinto engagement with said wall, mean for maintaining saidair-purifying material in spaced relation to said mouthpiece and saidmouthpiece being of sufficient length to extend through said openingwith its outer end arranged in proximity to the outer surface of saidcanister and being movable outwardly from said wall to provide an outletpassage therethrough for the purified air from said canister.

EDWIN G. PIERCE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 923,776 Danielewicz June 1, 19091,165,473 Ware Dec. 28, 1916 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 669,840Germany Jan. 5, 1939 229,010 Germany Nov. 8, 1919 102,423 Australia Nov.18, 1937

